THE MONEY FOR FINANCING AND THE HOME SEARCH
Once all the steps were completed, it was time to go through the loan application process. Financing was secured and Darryl supplied the pre-approval letter that would accompany the offer on a home they would find. Charles contacted his Real Estate Agent friend Troy Tezeno and they began the home shopping process by prioritizing multiple homes that fit the criteria given.
Another area to learn about was the types of loan products that were available, and how much closing costs would be needed based on the price of the home. The Lewis family learned about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Conventional and FHA products, and Portfolio products. This was stressful for the Lewis family because they learned, by losing a house they wanted, that some sellers only accept certain types of loans. One of the benefits of working with a lender like Darryl is he was able to present the Lewis family with multiple loan options that were in their budget.
They also appreciated the fact that he was patient, answered the questions over and over until they felt at ease and well informed. This did not mean that the questions would not come up again, sometimes a recent as the next day. “It is so important to have a Mortgage Banker that’s patient with you, available to you, and is there for you the whole journey no matter the question no matter how many times,” said Kimberly.
THE HOME SEARCH
“The home shopping process was also very interesting for the Lewis family,” said Charles. He shared that the market was so crazy, homes were flying off the shelf. On a few occasions, homes they viewed in the morning, had an offer on them by evening. They also learned an important lesson about being indecisive when in the home buying market. They lost the bid on several homes because they were taking time to think it through and make a decision on what they wanted to do.
Another very interesting experience was sometimes the homes didn’t look as good as they did in the photos online. So visiting the property and walking through the house was very important. The home buying process can be very frustrating and nerve-racking, but a good Realtist/Realtor can help a buyer through the process. One thing the agent cannot help with is how quickly a house can leave the market in a seller’s market. A seller’s market is basically when there are a limited number of properties and plenty of buyers. This gives the most leverage to the seller. Whereas, with plenty of real estate inventory, and few buyers, the buyers have more leverage…or referred to as a buyer’s market. The recommendation is to prioritize multiple homes that fit the criteria and decide soon as is feasible.
